I told him that I <shall><should> be twenty tomorrow.

S

sitifan

Senior Member
Taiwan
Hokkien & Mandarin Chinese
1. I told him this morning that I shall be twenty tomorrow.
2. I told him this morning that I *should be twenty tomorrow.
3. He said just a minute ago that he will come to my house this afternoon.
4. He said just a minute ago that he *would come to my house this afternoon.
(Ho's Complete English Grammar, Volume II, page 601)
According to the author, #1 and #3 are grammatically correct, #2 and #4 are incorrect.
Do native speakers agree with his judgment?
 
    • I don't.

    The author, Mr/Ms Ho, has made a mistake: Just because something is "grammatical", does not mean that anyone would ever say it.

    Idiomatically:
    1. I told him this morning that I shall be twenty tomorrow.
    2. I told him this morning that I *should be twenty tomorrow.
    3. He said just a minute ago that he will come to my house this afternoon. :thumbsup:
    4. He said just a minute ago that he would come to my house this afternoon.:thumbsup:
     
    sitifan said:
    1. I told him this morning that I shall be twenty tomorrow.
    2. I told him this morning that I *should be twenty tomorrow.
    [...]
    Click to expand...
    As Paul indicates, we wouldn't use the above forms in that context in contemporary English. We could say any of the following, with the fourth probably being by far the most likely:

    I told him this morning that I will be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I'll be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I'm going to be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I'm turning twenty tomorrow.
     
    The Newt said:
    As Paul indicates, we wouldn't use the above forms in that context in contemporary English. We could say any of the following, with the fourth probably being by far the most likely:

    I told him this morning that I will be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I'll be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I'm going to be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I'm turning twenty tomorrow.
    Click to expand...
    Are the sentences below acceptable?
    I told him this morning that I would be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I'd be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I was going to be twenty tomorrow.
    I told him this morning that I was turning twenty tomorrow.
     
    Yes, the backshift to a past tense is almost always possible and correct. Your new versions sound natural. It is not needed, if the time of saying is not important:

    I will be twenty tomorrow (I told him this morning).
    I told him this morning that I will be twenty tomorrow.
    = I told him this morning that I would be twenty tomorrow.
     
    For me, 1. I told him this morning that I shall be twenty tomorrow is not objectionable. Here the sense is "as an alternative to will to talk about the future".
    In British English, shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk about the future, e.g. I shall/will be there later.
    In American English, shall is unusual and will is normally used. (onestopenglish)
    Click to expand...
    In other contexts, "shall" may imply a strong determination or intention to do something., e.g. "we shall overcome". In the case of "being twenty tomorrow", that's going to happen anyway, and it's not a matter of determination or intention on the part of the birthday person, so there's no specific reason to choose "shall" over "will".
     
    I can’t find a book with that exact title. When was it published? If, as I suspect, it’s a book published in the late 19th century, that would explain the archaic use of shall rather than will in the first person.
     
    lingobingo said:
    that would explain the archaic use of shall rather than will in the first person.
    Click to expand...
    I don't think 74 is archaic. I have no problem whatsoever with "I told him this morning that I should be twenty tomorrow", although I happily recognise that I may be in a minority.
     
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